


Sweet Nothings

by Kantayra



Series: The Best-Laid Plans (Atobe/Tezuka) [8]
Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-15
Updated: 2016-12-15
Packaged: 2018-09-08 16:35:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8852257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kantayra/pseuds/Kantayra
Summary: Tezuka never could say "I love you" the normal way. Fortunately for him, Atobe had always known exactly what he meant.





	

Neither of them remembered how exactly it had started. It must’ve been not long after their first match, back when Atobe was just starting to seriously pursue Tezuka and Tezuka was just starting to let him. Atobe could have said or done just about anything to set it off, because Atobe was exceptionally skilled at saying and doing ridiculous things that Tezuka’s public persona really _should_ have disdained but Tezuka’s inner self secretly found far too amusing.

Whatever it had been, Tezuka had given Atobe a cold look and, to cover his laughter, said, “I hate you.”

Atobe had met Tezuka’s eyes and informed him, with complete confidence, “No, you don’t.”

And Tezuka had just snorted and looked away.

***

It had become something of a pattern in the following weeks. Whenever Tezuka was on the verge of saying quite the opposite, he’d sigh, inform Atobe how much he hated him, and Atobe would smirk and let Tezuka know all too well that he’d heard just the opposite.

It didn’t change until after Nationals and their first kiss and their first consummation.

Atobe had done something else smug, self-assured, and designed purposefully to get under Tezuka’s skin.

Tezuka sighed and yielded with a dry “I hate you.”

Atobe leaned into him with insufferable arrogance and purred, “No, you don’t,” right against Tezuka’s lips.

Tezuka’s tongued darted out to wet his own bottom lip before finally confessing, “No, I don’t,” and then Atobe’s mouth was upon him.

***

They’d settled comfortably into that version of the exchange for some time. Tezuka wasn’t naturally inclined to verbal expressions of affection, and Atobe had more than enough self-esteem that he didn’t require reassurance.

They’d sunk deeper into each other in those months, entwining inextricably in a strange combination of stereotypical teenage lustful hormones and genuine everlasting spiritual connection. Tezuka hadn’t really known what he was doing back in those days, beyond thoroughly enjoying himself in a way he never would have thought he could. It would never have occurred to him then that the two of them had the ability to truly _last_ , not against both his family’s and society’s expectations.

So it was that, before Tezuka even knew what hit him, Atobe had taken Tezuka home to meet his parents, and Tezuka suddenly realized just how _serious_ the two of them really were.

Atobe seemed to have come to the same conclusion, in step with Tezuka as always, and the next time he delightfully exasperated Tezuka to point of Tezuka’s grumbling, “I hate you,” Atobe pushed it further.

“No, you don’t,” Atobe retorted.

“No, I don’t,” Tezuka agreed.

“You love me,” Atobe pressed.

And Tezuka had just flushed and looked away again, because despite everything else, they hadn’t exchanged those particular words yet, at least on his part.

Atobe slid his arms around Tezuka anyway, indulgently, because as always he knew what Tezuka meant to say well before he said it. “It’s okay,” Atobe insisted, “I love you, too.”

***

When Tezuka finally made the permanent move to Germany, he hadn’t honestly believed that Atobe would follow him. Their affair had been a dream come true, a fairytale romance of halcyon days. But, surely, with all of Atobe’s prospects, he wouldn’t choose to leave his home behind just to chase an old tennis rival and somewhat-awkward lover halfway around the world? That just wasn’t the way the real world worked.

In retrospect, Tezuka really should have known better. Atobe didn't follow the way the world worked; Atobe reworked the world so that it suited the way he _wanted_ it to be. So of _course_ Atobe came after him.

Tezuka knew then that he was snared forever and finally let himself fully relish in the little things Atobe did, day in and day out, to sneak under his defenses and make him _feel_ in the way that no one else ever had.

And so, when Atobe had achieved a particularly clever one, Tezuka had just said wearily, as was his manner, “I hate you.”

“No, you don’t,” Atobe returned with a shark smile.

“No,” Tezuka agreed, “I don’t.”

“You love me,” Atobe informed him pompously.

“Yes,” Tezuka finally conceded, having found one medium where he could return Atobe’s confession at long last, “I do,” and he meant it with all his heart for the rest of his life.

**Author's Note:**

> I've had Tezuka and Atobe go through this exchange in two separate fics at this point, so this fic is just to show that I'm being repetitive for a reason. :P
> 
> Also, one of those fics was in my present-day Atobe/Tezuka series and another was in my future-time series, so this is as good a time as any to admit that those two series are in the same universe, since several more crossover facts/references are set to crop up in the near future.
> 
> I consider this fic an epilogue to the present-time series (not that I'm anywhere _near_ done writing that; I've just given up hope of writing it remotely in order, so I'll post the epilogue before 90% of the middle) and a prologue to the future-time series.


End file.
